


Life 1

by darkgaaraluver



Series: Rainbows [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkgaaraluver/pseuds/darkgaaraluver
Summary: Some of Akaashi and Bokuto's past lives. Bokuto dies over and over. Across time and dimensions.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: Rainbows [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601341
Comments: 10
Kudos: 161





	Life 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if this needs any more tags. Not a happy fic! I thought you might be interested in some of the things Akaashi dreams about. But it was kinda fun coming up with all these deaths.

**Life 1**

They were only small children the first time. They didn’t know what a soulmate was. Their souls didn’t recognize each other when they met eyes. 

They did know, after only a day of playing, that they wanted to be best friends forever. 

Akaashi didn’t know that this time, the first time, they would only get a year. 

Akaashi had watched his mother slowly wither away and die. Bokuto had watched his friend get sadder and sadder, until one day he was inconsolable. 

Everyone had been so concerned about Akaashi’s mother’s death that Akaashi himself was ignored in his sadness. Everyone was laying flowers on her grave, Bokuto figured giving Akaashi his own flower might make him feel better. 

He didn’t mean to get so close to the cliff edge.

Akaashi looked up from crying at Bokuto’s scream just in time to meet his eyes as he goes over the edge.

Akaashi didn’t know the universe was listening when he stood on that cliff later and screamed his vow to find his friend and be together again.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 2**

When next they met Bokuto was being looked at as a potential suitor for Akashi’s younger sister. He was the son of Akaashi’s father’s boss. 

Akaashi wasn’t sure how they had avoided meeting until his sister’s debutante ball. Akaashi had met many people that night, keeping a close watch over his sister’s shoulder, but none had drawn his own gaze like Bokuto. 

Fortunately Bokuto’s eyes stayed more on him than his sister, and no one commented when they became fast friends. 

His smile lit up every room they were in, even that first ballroom. Akaashi cursed himself for it, but he quickly fell in love. 

He thought he was lucky when Bokuto returned it, he didn’t know it would be more of a curse. 

When neither took wives, rumors spread until they came to a head. They’d snuck out in the middle of the night to see each other and take a walk around the sleeping city, with the rain no one would see if their hands bumped too often while they walked. 

They didn’t know that Bokuto’s father had followed him from the house to see where he was disappearing too. They thought they were safe when Bokuto pulled Akaashi into an ally to sneak a kiss. 

They were cornered. There was yelling and angry words and a gun pointed at Akaashi’s chest. Bokuto didn’t think anything of jumping in front of him. 

Akaashi sat in a dark ally in the rain, covered in blood, crying as he held the dead body of his love to his chest for the rest of the night. His heart had been shot more thoroughly then if the shot had pierced his chest. 

The world still didn’t know what a soulmate was and still Akaashi vowed to be with him again.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 3**

Akaashi knew he wasn’t a good person. He’d killed any number of people for his boss. That’s just what he did.

None of them had ever given him pause like this one did. His eyes seemed to pierce through to his soul where they stared up at him over the duct tape. Maybe it was because they didn’t seem to beg to be spared like most people’s did when they knew the end was near.

Akaashi didn’t know. He did know that he still had a job to do no matter what he thought. 

He pulled the trigger.

It was the only kill that Akaashi ever regretted. Only because he never could get the picture of those eyes out of his head. Not until he was shot himself. 

The world knew about soulmates, the rare few. Akaashi thought it was all hogwash. He’d never cared about anyone else. Not really. Certainly not a cop who’d gotten too close to catching them, whose eyes he dreamed of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 4**

Next time they met was the shortest time yet. 

Akaashi had stopped on his way home from school when he saw a figure on the bridge. He was still a long way away, but he could tell even from where he was that they were standing on the wrong side of the railing.

Akaashi felt his heart beat fast in his chest. He didn’t understand it but he felt compelled to run closer. He stopped only when he ran out of breath, still much too far away to do anything. 

Now he could tell that it was a fellow student from his school by his uniform. He didn’t know the person, but Akaashi’s eyes widened in fear and panic as he jumped into the water below.

Akaashi stood there for hours without realizing, but he never came back up.

Once a year after that he’d bring a flower to the bridge. He always felt compelled to bring the same kind, the same type of flower as Bokuto had wanted to give to him during their first life, though Akaashi didn’t remember it. 

Lots of people had soulmates. Not Akaashi though. When he was feeling bleak he sometimes felt that maybe the boy he’d watched kill himself had been his soulmate. Maybe that was why he felt so dead inside.

When his life fell apart at 30 he still remembered that boy and jumped off the same bridge.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 5**

Akaashi hated his new coworker. He always only barely finished his work on time and was always asking Akaashi for help with things. Akaashi had lost track of how many pens he’d surrendered to Bokuto.

It was obnoxious when he’d run into work 5 sometimes even ten minutes late every day. His shirt and tie always looking windswept. Akaashi was sure that the only reason Bokuto wasn’t fired was the strong friendship he had with their boss. 

The secret handshake Akaashi had once witnessed had him simmering with anger for weeks.

When they got partnered at the ‘team building’ getaway they were forced to do for work Akaashi was sure he wouldn’t last the two weeks. 

He was caught entirely by surprise to learn over those weeks that there was so much more to Bokuto than met the eye. And even more surprised to learn that they were soulmates. The matching owl tattoos on their forearms was a dead give away.

They were together for only a year after they found each other. The driver who hit Bokuto’s car did a number on it. Akaashi was the only one they could get to identify the body. He only knew it as his love from the owl on his arm.

The boss he hated so much for hiring Bokuto was the only one Akaashi had to hold him as he cried.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


**Life 6**

No one in Akaashi’s family had a soulmate. He figured he was also destined to spend his life alone when he signed up for the army. The last thing he expected or wanted was to meet his soulmate on the battlefield.

Sure enough though, wherever Bokuto touched was marked with shining gold on his skin. 

Akaashi found Bokuto’s color fitting. He brought sunlight to any dark and dismal place they found themselves in. The brief moments they spent alone was the only thing keeping Akaashi even close to sane.

He painted Bokuto’s skin a deep dark blue. Whenever he was feeling self conscious he’d ask Bokuto what he thought Akaashi’s color meant. 

Bokuto would always smile a small, sad smile and trace a line of blue somewhere on him and tell Akaashi it meant he was fierce like a raging storm and that he reminded Bokuto he had to be strong too. 

They were caught behind enemy lines. Taken captive.

Worse than the torture was watching Bokuto. The captures quickly found out they were soulmates and used it against them as much as they could.

They went too far one day though. Akaashi held Bokuto in their cell as he slipped away, his hands leaving paths of red. 

Akaashi was rescued eventually. But he knew from that moment on that the blue he left on Bokuto only represented the sadness and tragedy he had brought to Bokuto’s life. 

Everyone said his soul died with Bokuto. He never spoke out loud again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


**Life 7**

Akaashi was born a witch. 

He met Bokuto right away, then a small grey horned owlet. Akaashi and Bokuto instantly bonded as a witch and familiar. 

They grew up together. Bokuto took on Akaashi’s lifespan through their bond. 

But Akaashi had also been unfortunate enough to be born in the middle of a centuries long blood feud with another witch family.

He hadn’t realized how active the feud was, his parent’s having kept him out of it as long as they could.

So he wasn’t expecting it when it continued after they died. Everytime the last of a generation died the feud needed to be renewed with an act of violence to show the will of the new generation. 

A familiar is considered part of a witch’s soul. 

When Akaashi woke to find Bokuto in a broken heap on his porch he was sure it was the better part of a witch’s soul.

Akaashi was overcome with anger. 

In his anger and sadness he lashed out with a forbidden blood magic on the other witch family, ensuring they would be completely wiped from existence at the cost of his own life. 

It was only in Akaashi’s last moments that he wept for what he’d done. For punishment for using forbidden magic came in three’s. Both him and Bokuto’s soul’s cursed for three more lifetimes.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 8**

It was the last thing Akaashi had wanted to do. He spent most of his time now cursing his own existence. 

The only time he felt like a human anymore were those scarce few hours he spent in Bokuto’s arms. But Akaashi knew this moment would come from the first moment he laid eyes on Bokuto and had fallen into it anyway. How could he not when Bokuto looked at him like that?

But he was royalty. He allowed himself only a second to close his eyes in sorrow before he put on an apathetic face. If he was doing this he was going to do it properly. 

Bokuto stood in the middle of the coliseum. He met Akaashi’s eyes one last time and nodded in determination when he saw Akaashi’s emotionless face.

Akaashi’s father released the lion. 

It was a gruesome death, Bokuto fighting every step of the way. Shooting looks up at the royal box every so often.

Akaashi refused to look away for a second. Not even at the end.

No matter how the tears pushed against the back of his eyes or clogged his throat.

When it was over his father shot him a look of triumph. Akaashi killed him himself less than a year later. Akaashi’s reign was short though as he went slowly crazy. His subjects never could understand his motivations. 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 9**

Akaashi grew up with a name on his wrist and an empty feeling in his heart. 

He was by himself when the name faded to grey before his 18th birthday. 

No one was there to notice when he wasted away slowly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Life 10**

They met in college. Their eyes locked across a crowded dance floor. 

Akaashi thought it was a strange pickup line when Bokuto told him they were soulmates. That he could see the red strings of fate. Akaashi thought it was a bit silly. He had already been drawn in hook, line, and sinker.

They were married by 30. 

Akaashi was standing in the kitchen when he felt it. A sick dropping in his stomach. His vision went dark and his legs gave out. 

He was already crying when the fire chief had come to give him the news in person. 

Bokuto had died rescuing a child from a burning building, the roof having fallen in.

Akaashi no longer doubted Bokuto about the red strings of fate. Not that he could tell him.

They’d only been married a year.


End file.
